A bit of Ames history will be on display at the campaign kickoff for Youth and Shelter Services’ renovation of the former Ames Municipal Building tonight.

The “Preserving the Past—Preparing for the Future” campaign will officially open at the Scheman Building Wednesday to raise funds to restore the building as it looked when built in 1915.

About 300 people are expected to attend the fund raiser dinner and exhibit of the time capsule contents, said Andrea Lex, public relation officer for YSS.

A time capsule containing items from 1915 was opened Jan. 24 after being removed from a cornerstone of the building at 5th Street and Kellogg Avenue.

“We knew about the time capsule because when they buried it, it was written about in the Ames Tribune. It was meant to be removed when the building was to be demolished, but we decided to open it for the renovation because the building was not going to be demolished,” Lex said.

Items such as a telephone book, postcards, maps and photos of William West, first mayor of Ames, will be on display to the public for the first time. The items will eventually be given to the Ames Public Library to display.

YSS, in conjunction with the Story County Sesquicentennial Commission, held a contest to create another time capsule to be buried in the renovated building. Entrants suggested their ideas of items to be in the time capsule along with their messages for the future.

“We received 62 entries from people ranging in age from 5 to 21 … They suggested toys, homework assignments, compact discs, calculators and various promotional items for [the] City of Ames,” Lex said.

The contest winners will present their ideas and messages for the future at the kickoff evening.

The new capsule will be buried in the Family Historical Plaza of the new YSS Center in December for Iowa’s 150th birthday. It is set to be removed for Iowa’s 300th birthday, in the year 2146.

The campaign goal is $2.5 million. Des Moines businessman, Richard O. Jacobson has already donated $500,000. The renovated building will be named after him in honor of his contribution.

Part of the funds raised through the campaign will be placed in a YSS endowment to provide on-going funding for programs that assist central Iowa families and youth, Lex said.

“We’re going to be telling people the amount of money raised to date” after the dinner, Lex said.

Donation solicitation from the community-at-large will begin after the kickoff evening. Three local banks are providing a loan to cover the interim costs at a discounted loan rate. YSS has applied to have the renovated building placed in the National Register of Historic Places.

“We feel that by restoring this building we are making a great contribution to the city,” Lex said.